The Ministry of Health of Gaza warned on Saturday of a “real disaster” due to power shortages, lack of power needed to operate machinery and a lack of necessary medical supplies and medicine. The ministry's general director of medical stores said during a news conference on Saturday that hospitals lack medicines needed for emergencies and operations. Ashraf Abu Mahadi added that “there will be a major crisis if medications are not available, especially anesthetics and intensive care. Basic medical supplies are all out and what we have in our warehouses will not be enough for days.” Abu Mahadi said that “what has been used during the Israeli offensive is multiple times more than what we have received in the last couple of days.” The general director of the ministry’s maintenance department warned of the repeated power shortages and lack of necessary power to operate machines. he said that hospitals have been using generators for the last couple of days because of the power shortages.
“Al-Shifaa Hospital uses one generator to operate. The al-Nasser medical center still works on generators, and power shortages damage the generators because they cannot keep operating round the clock,” Islam al-Hamadin added. The European Hospital has been facing a blackout for 48 hours, he added.